B1 25HA5 - J_A_Sole Source_FAR13Under SAT.pdf

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LIMITED SOURCES/BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION

Justification and Approval (J&A), Supporting Procurements under Federal Acquisition

Regulation (FAR) Subpart: (FAR) 13.106(b)(1) (Under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)($250K) ONLY)

Purchase Request Number: HQ002850243219 Contract Number: TBD Task/Delivery Order Number: N/A Procurement Title: AFPAA – SCIF Camera Equipment Estimated Value: $84,958.56 Statutory and Regulatory Authority: 10 U.S.C. 3204(a) and FAR 13.5 Justification Number: 25-1010

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Contracting Officer, hereby approve this limited sources/brand name justification for the proposed contract action pursuant to the authority cited below as the particular Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) equipment is essential to the Government's requirements, and market research indicates other companies' products or services do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the agency's needs.

1. REQUIRING ACTIVITY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY:

Requiring Activity:

Air Force Public Affairs Agency (AFPAA) 1960 1st Street West, Bldg. 977

JBSA-Randolph, TX 78150

Contracting Activity:

DMA HQ, Acquisition and Procurement Directorate 6700 Taylor Avenue Fort Meade, MD 20755

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION:

Approval to issue a limited sources contract for mirrorless camera equipment that is capable for use in a SCIF. The Air Force Public Affairs Agency (AFPAA) has a requirement to provide several of our units with mirrorless camera equipment that is capable for use in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). Specifically, they cannot have any type of wireless (IP/Bluetooth) capabilities and cannot be reactivated by end user with a hardware or software modification. Previous AFPAA procurements for cameras to be used in SCIF’s could be procured from authorized manufacturers partners as they weren’t specialized in any way and procured as Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS). Previous procurements for SCIF cameras were Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) type cameras and didn’t offer a “built-in” wireless capability, a wireless adapter would need to be plugged into an external port on the camera, making it physically removeable. With camera manufacturers recent migration to

AFPAA – SCIF Camera Equipment

Page 2 of 4 Pages all mirrorless cameras, increased camera capabilities and features are now integrated internally during the manufacturing process and don’t require external plug-in adapters to add wireless capabilities. Camera manufacturers typically have a menu driven option to “disable” these functions, but SCIF security requirements mandate that the wireless capabilities cannot be reactivated by end user with a hardware or software modification.

In addition, new mirrorless cameras have specific lens mounts that are not compatible between manufacturers, migrating to another manufacturer would incur additional $8,600.00 per-camera for lenses and supporting components, a total additional expense of $309,600.00 (36 X $8,600.00). However, the requested equipment is being offered by the manufacturer with a $137.00 savings per unit below retail for a total savings of approximately $4,932.00 (36 X $137 = $4,932.00), an additional savings that would not be expected through competition. The most recent contract for the older, SCIF acceptable camera was awarded on 26 September 2018 using the DMA BPA HQ0516-18-A-0003, Order Number HQ0516-18-F-0167 ($347,034.00), as a 100% Small Business Set-Aside.

The requested camera equipment is unique and only available directly from the manufacturer. The manufacturer has agreed to produce a limited production run that will remove wireless and Bluetooth capabilities and will provide documentation stating that the wireless and Bluetooth capabilities have been permanently disabled.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES: The vendor shall provide the items and quantities listed below.

Item # Manufacturer/Description/Part/Model Number* (OR EQUAL) Qty

Nikon, 1890 – MODIFIED*, Z6 III Mirrorless Camera, Body Only, NO WIRELESS

CONNECTIVITY:

*Note – All wireless and Bluetooth (Wireless: 2.4 / 5 GHz Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Bluetooth (5.0)) components have been physically disabled by the manufacturer and cannot be reactivated by the end user with hardware or software modification.

SUBTOTAL (Products) 36

The total for the items above is approximately $84,958.56 and will replace equipment that is no longer compatible with newer mirrorless camera lenses and beyond lifecycle.

AFPAA is responsible for providing critical mission equipment to the units across the globe. Providing mission critical equipment items in varying quantities is expected to occur on a continuous basis and as funding permits.

4. Statutory Authority: 10 U.S.C. 3204(a); and Regulatory Authority Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-6(b)(1). The requested camera equipment is peculiar to one manufacturer, namely Nikon Inc (17088). The requested Nikon camera equipment is the only one available that will meet SCIF security requirements and fully integrate with lenses already in unit inventories.

5. Proposed Sole Source Contractor:

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Nikon Inc. (Cage Code – 17088) UEI: FEVRGJ24CNX5 1300 Walt Whitman RD Melville, NY. 11747-3001 POC: Craig Filosa (Government Business), craig.filosa@nikon.com, Ph. 631-547-4367.

Comments: NOT a Small Business, No active or inactive exclusions as of 1/15/2025 (SAM.Gov), Not Listed in SBA DSBS database.

6. Market Research: Market research indicates AFPAA has a requirement to provide several of our units with mirrorless camera equipment that is capable for use in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). Specifically, the cameras can’t have any type of wireless (IP/Bluetooth) capabilities and cannot be reactivated by end user with a hardware or software modification. Previous AFPAA procurements for cameras to be used in SCIF’s could be procured from authorized manufacturers partners as they weren’t specialized in any way and procured as Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS). Previous procurements for SCIF cameras were Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) type cameras and didn’t offer a “built-in” wireless capability, a wireless adapter would need to be plugged into an external port on the camera, making it physically removeable. With manufacturers migration to all mirrorless cameras, increased camera capabilities and features are now integrated internally during the manufacturing process and don’t require external plug-in adapters to add wireless capabilities. Camera manufacturers typically have a menu driven option to “disable” these functions, but SCIF security requirements mandate that the wireless capabilities cannot be reactivated by end user with a hardware or software modification. The requested camera equipment is unique and only available directly from the manufacturer. The manufacturer has agreed to produce a limited production run that will remove wireless and Bluetooth capabilities and will provide documentation stating that the wireless and Bluetooth capabilities have been permanently disabled. In addition, units currently have required camera support items (lenses, batteries, flashes, etc..), in inventories that are specific to the requested manufacturer, the cost per-camera for these items is $9,763.40. A similar solution from another manufacturer would require the purchase of similar support items that would add an estimated additional cost of $351,4802.40 ($9,763.40 X 36 = $351,482.40). The additional cost would place an undue burden on the government and would not be overcome by competition.

Based on current market research by AFPAA, dated January 2025 and included with their procurement request, it has been determined that only the aforementioned unique camera equipment manufactured by Nikon Inc, can fully meet the Government’s need. This requirement is for specialized and proprietary products and there is no functional replacement in the market at this time that will meet the Government's need. The Government will continue to conduct market research to determine if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future competitive actions; i.e., there are similar products and/or product support in the marketplace that provides the same functionality, the original equipment manufacturer releases ownership rights of the product, or it is economically feasible to procure a new solution.

mailto:craig.filosa@nikon.com

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Based on the justification provided by Air Force Public Affairs Agency (AFPAA), a determination has been made to solicit sole source Nikon SCIF camera equipment available from only one manufacturer namely Nikon.; only authorized seller for the above-described requirement.

PREPARED BY:

NAME: Jason Frazee DATE: SEE DIGITAL DATE Contract Specialist

DMA HQ, A&P

APPROVED BY:

NAME: Thomas Brown DATE: SEE DIGITAL DATE Procuring Contracting Officer

DMA HQ, A&P